Odisha Govt Mandates 25% Reservation For Disadvantaged Groups In Private Schools

Bhubaneswar: To ensure free education for the poor and disadvantaged students, the Odisha government has decided to reserve 25 per cent seats in all private schools of the state.

For the strict implementation of the policy, the School and Mass Education Department has prepared a specific portal www.rteparadarshi.odisha.gov.in with detailed criteria as mentioned hereunder.

—All private aided schools who have obtained the certificate of registration (CoR) either from the state government or the local administration will have to register in the www.rteparadarshi.odisha.gov.in to reserve 25 per cent seats for the children of the disadvantaged groups for admission of the children from Class I to VIII for free and compulsory education under the Right to Education Act, 2009.

—The District Education Officers (DEOs) will have to ensure the reservation in the aided private schools coming under their jurisdiction.

—The unaided private schools will also have to ensure 25 per cent reservation for the children from Class I or pre-Primary up to Class VIII.

—However, the rules are not applicable to the private schools having students of minority communities.

—The disadvantaged students willing to take admission in the aided private schools will have to register their name in the said portal. The parents and guardians will register the name of their wards either at the common service centre or at any cyber café. If necessary, the Block Education Officers (BEOs) will also provide all assistance to them in the registration.

—The students will be enrolled in a private school which is within one km from their place of stay.

—If the schools are situated at a distance of 3 km, 5 km and 10 km, the admission will be held on a lottery basis in which out of 25 per cent of the admission, 10 per cent admission will be reserved for the Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribes and Socially and Economically Backward Classes (SEBC) children, 5 per cent for the destitute, child labourers, roadside and the beggar children and the remaining 10 per cent of the students of backward community and the BPL families.

—After the completion of the online application for admission, the documents will be verified by the BEOs.

—A five-member block-level committee comprising the BEO, two Cluster Resource Centre Coordinators (CRCCs), and two representatives of the unaided private schools will oversee the process of admission.